


Safe

by pasteldanhowells



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: AU, Abuse, Angst, Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Neko Dan Howell, neko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 09:26:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14375883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pasteldanhowells/pseuds/pasteldanhowells
Summary: Dan was a young neko who’s lived with his Master Chris fever since he was a kitten, but things were different now that he was older. Chris treated his neko poorly and only used him for his own pleasures. Chris’s best friend Phil finds out that Chris is giving away the young neko and immediately steps up to save him. Ultimately, a friendship blossoms between Dan and Phil, and Dan gets the happy ending he never thought he’d get.





	1. Chapter 1

“Why are you doing this, Chris?” Phil asked his best friend.

“I don’t want it anymore. It’s useless to me,” Chris answered angrily.

“Well, what’s the problem? You’ve had him for years, since he was a kitten!” he pointed out exasperatedly.

“He doesn’t listen to me anymore. Doesn’t do what I say,” Chris claimed.

It was a Friday evening when Phil was at his best friends house. Chris was giving away a neko that he’s had for years now…and Phil just didn’t understand why. Phil knew the neko, and he seemed absolutely lovely. Admittedly, Phil was sometimes jealous that Chris had such an amazing neko, but Chris never appreciated him the way Phil would have appreciated him. Chris only wanted him for his own selfish pleasures, and Phil refused to understand how someone could treat a neko like that. It broke Phil’s heart to see that people actually had the indecency to treat neko’s so horribly.

“Are you mean to him?” Phil asked, folding his arms across his chest. Most of Phil’s friends who had neko’s weren’t the best owners, they were just like everybody else, and Phil hated it. He hated seeing neko’s in any type of pain, emotional or physical, it was just cruel and evil. He wished he could save them all, but deep down he knew that couldn’t.

“Only when he doesn’t do what I say,” Chris admitted.

Phil rolled his eyes. “He’s probably afraid of you,” he mumbled. Though, he wouldn’t even blame the poor neko if he was afraid of Chris. Chris was a horrible neko owner.

“Why are we even talking about this? Someone’s coming to pick him up tomorrow anyways. I won’t have to put up with him anymore. Thank God,” Chris said, raking a hand through his hair and sighing in relief.

“What? Who are you giving him to?” Phil inquired, a little disappointed. He liked Dan, the neko.

Chris shrugged his shoulders noncommittally, “Someone that I met at the pub.”

“No!” Phil yelled, standing up from the chair that he had been sitting in.

“No, what?” Chris asked, blinking a few times as he looked up at Phil.

“I’ll take him,” Phil said firmly. “I want to take him home with me.”

“Are you being serious? There are more better nekos out there Phil,” Chris said, also standing up. “He’s fucking useless. He won’t listen to me or… or anyone!” he remarked.

“I’ll take care of him. He’ll listen to me, just watch and see,” Phil said calmly.

Chris threw his arms up. “Fine. Take him. He’s all yours,” he shook his head.

“Where is he? I’ll get him out of your hands immediately.”

“In his bedroom. Probably doing something useless,” Chris grumbled.

Phil rolled his eyes, getting more and more annoyed with Chris, and then turned around and walked out of the kitchen, heading straight for Dan’s bedroom. It was a pitiful sized bedroom, though Phil wasn’t that surprised, considering the way Chris took care of the poor thing.

“Dan?” Phil called softly, walking into the bedroom. He glanced up and smiled when he saw that Dan was curled up tightly in his blankets on the bed. He looked positively adorable. Phil crept over to the bed, reaching over and gently shaking Dan a few times, attempting to wake him up.

Dan’s eyes slowly fluttered open when he felt someone shake him. He looked over and jumped up as soon as he noticed Phil standing there. “Wh-What are you d-doing he-here?” he stuttered.

“Relax. I’m not going to hurt you, okay? I promise,” Phil whispered. “I’m getting you out of here.”

“M-M-Master Chris won’t l-like th-that,” Dan whimpered.

“No, I already talked to him. Don’t worry. He’s letting me take you home,” Phil told him.

Dan’s ears perked up. He knew Phil very well, and so he knew that Phil was nice… much nicer than his master was, but that sadly didn’t stop him feeling afraid. He was afraid of most people these days, a rueful consequence of a life spent being so poorly cared for.

“R-Really?”

“Really. Let’s pack your things and we’ll get out of here immediately,” Phil instructed. “Do you have a bag that we can put your clothes in? Knowing Chris, you probably don’t have a lot anyway.”

“Hey! I have more important things to spend my money on!” Chris yelled from the living room.

“Shut up, Chris!” Phil retorted loudly back at him. His eyes darted back over at Dan and his eyebrows furrowed when he saw the look on his face. “I’m sorry. I won’t shout anymore.” He smiled reassuringly.

“B-Bags in the cl-closet,” Dan whispered timidly, pointing to his tiny closet.

Phil nodded. He reached over and grabbed the bag that Dan was talking about, and started throwing all of Dan’s clothes into it. All he needed was Dan’s clothes. He’d already decided he was going to buy Dan many more things, nicer things…things that he didn’t have before with Chris.

About 15 minutes later, Phil finally had everything of Dan’s ready and packed. “Can you walk?”

Dan nodded and stood up from the bed, immediately going over to Phil and clinging to his arm.

“Hey, you don’t have to be afraid anymore, okay?” Phil reminded him quietly, “You’re okay, now.”

Dan took a deep breath and nodded, slowly loosening his grip on Phil.

Phil latched onto Dan’s hand as they walked out of Dan’s bedroom and down the hallway. It was a sign of defiance, a way to show Chris that Dan wasn’t alone anymore, that he was finally going to have the life he deserved, away from the tumultuous, harsh life Chris had inflicted upon him.

“Leaving finally, are you?” Chris asked, raising his eyebrows when he saw Phil and Dan with twined hands.

“Yes. Even though I’m upset with you right now… you’re still my friend,” Phil told him.

“Oh, how nice of you Phil.” Chris rolled his eyes.

“I need to get Dan home now,” Phil said as he tried his best to stay calm. “Call you later.”

“Good luck, fucking useless thing…” Chris laughed as he walked into the living room.

Dan let out a broken sob. He didn’t like the way his master talked about him…it hurt his feelings, even after all this time. His master used to be so nice to him when he was younger, now he was relentlessly nasty and horrible to him, no matter how much the neko tried to please him.

“Shh, come on love,” Phil soothed, leading Dan out of the house.

__________

“Here we are, home sweet home!” Phil exclaimed as he and Dan walked into his house.

Dan bit his lip nervously as he looked around. It was a large house, that was for sure. It was much larger than Master Chris’s house, and it would definitely take some time to get used to. “Come with me. We’ll get you a bath and then we’ll feed you. How does that sound?” Phil asked.

Dan nodded eagerly, trying to contain his excitement. It’d been a while since he’d been properly cared for, so much so that the sheer notion of that seemed alien to him.

“Chris didn’t take good care of you, did he?” Phil asked sadly.

“At first he did. Not much anymore though,” Dan sniffed. “I don’t know why.”

“You’re what? 22 now? Chris probably thinks you’re too old for him now. He likes his neko’s nice and young and active. But, don’t you worry Dan… I’ll keep you here forever, no matter how old you get. You’ll be safe and protected here, no matter what!” Phil promised.

Dan couldn’t stop himself from running over to Phil and snuggling into him, hugging him tightly.

Phil laughed as he wrapped his arms around Dan’s waist and hugged him right back, kissing the top of his head affectionately. He wanted the neko to know that he was safe here.

“Th-Thank you…” Dan whispered gratefully, looking up at his new master.

“Don’t thank me. I’m glad I could help. I know Chris didn’t treat you very well.” Phil said.

“My fault. I stopped listening to him and he got angry,” Dan pouted. “H-He only wanted me for-”

“No, shh, don’t say anything further. I don’t need an image of my best friend being with a neko,”

Dan giggled. “Sorry-” He let go of Phil. “R-Really though. If you don’t want me to stay. I can just leave or something. I’ll find somewhere else to stay. Someone else will buy me,” he rambled, wringing his hands together.

Phil quickly shook his head. “No! I brought you home because I wanted to. I wouldn’t have brought you home if I didn’t want to, would I?” He asked, smiling reassuringly.

“I g-guess not. I’m just happy that I get to live my life happy again,” Dan whispered.

“How about we clean you up, huh? I’m sure it’s been a while since you’ve had a proper bath, considering the way Chris has been treating you lately,” Phil said, rolling his eyes.

Dan nodded. “He never lets me use the bath unless I’m extra good to him,” he muttered.

“Figures. Come on. We’ll get you into a nice bubble bath.” Phil prompted, gesturing to the stairs.

“Yay!” Dan squealed excitedly, his eyes going wide. “I love bubble baths!”

****

“It should be illegal for you to be this cute!” Phil commented with a laugh as he watched Dan play with the bubbles in the bath like a child. Dan has been in the bath for nearly an hour now. Phil would suggest that Dan get out, get dry and then get re-dressed. But he didn’t have the heart to say it. It’d been a good few months since Dan had had a proper bath, he deserved to enjoy the moment, a moment he was certain he never thought he’d be experiencing again for a long time.

Dan looked up at Phil and smiled innocently. “I just really like bubbles,” he blushed.

“Oh yeah? I can tell,” Phil chuckled, standing up.

“Where are you going?” Dan asked quietly, sticking his bottom lip out. He didn’t want Phil to leave him alone, he adored having Phil around. Phil was nice, one of the nicest humans he’d ever met so far and Dan wasn’t actually afraid of him which was very rare for him.

Phil blinked a few times as he glanced over at Dan. “I’m going to go get you something to wear from your bag. Don’t worry, I’ll be right back. I promise,” he said. He gave Dan a smile before he turned around and walked out of the bathroom, leaving Dan all by himself.

Dan was able to keep himself entertained while Phil was gone. He loved playing with the bubbles. He didn’t know why, it just relaxed him. Watching the bubbles pop and bob up and down, there was something so calming about it all. It was one of his favorite things about baths.

A couple moments later and Phil finally came back into the bathroom with a pair of pajamas.

Dan broke into a wide smile when Phil walked back in. “You did come back!”

Phil laughed. “Of course I did silly!” He exclaimed. “Ready to come out yet?”

“No! Five more minutes, pl-please?” Dan begged, giving Phil the saddest face he could.

“Oh, alright! Five more minutes. Only because you’re really cute right now,” Phil said, grinning impishly.

Dan giggled, and then he went straight back to playing with the bubbles, captivated by the rainbow of colours being thrown off of them as the light hit them.

Once Dan was done in the bath, he got changed into the pajamas that Phil got for him. He was feeling cosy and warm, and he hadn’t felt this way in a long time. Gosh, was he thankful for Phil.

“Would you like some milk?” Phil asked as he and Dan walked into the living room.

Dan’s eyes went wide. “You have milk?!” He asked dubiously.

“I’m guessing that would be a yes,” Phil laughed. “Make yourself comfortable on the couch if you want. The remote is on the table over there,” Phil pointed to the coffee table in the middle of the living room. “You can turn the TV on if you want.” He suggested. He glanced at Dan once before he turned around and walked out of the living room and went to the kitchen.

When Phil came back with two glasses of milk in his hand, he found Dan curled up on the couch, looking through the channels on the TV curiously. Dan was still young, so Phil guessed that he loved to watch TV just like everyone else. Phil wanted to make sure that Dan had as much freedom as possible. He had so little when he was living with Chris, which wasn’t even slightly fair… to Phil at least. Everybody deserved freedom, even if they weren’t fully human.

Dan started and sat bolt upright as soon as he saw Phil.

“You don’t have to sit up, you know?” Phil told him as he sat down on the couch. He reached over and handed Dan the glass of milk. “I was thinking…tonight, we get you settled down, and then tomorrow, we go to the store and buy you lots of new things? How’s that sound?”

“Phil-” Dan sighed as he took the glass of milk from him. “Don’t waste your money on me.”

“I’ve got all the money in the world Dan, it’s completely fine. I want you to be happy here, and I want you to have all the things that I have and that Chris never gave you,” Phil told him.

“As long as you’re sure. I’m not worth spending money on,” Dan grimaced.

“Stop it,” Phil scolded. “You’re not allowed to talk about yourself like that anymore.”

Dan winced and immediately looked down, too afraid to say anything.

Phil sighed as he stared at Dan. “I’m not upset with you, Dan. I’m upset with Chris because he’s the one who made you feel like this. You are worth something, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make you feel like that,” He leaned over and kissed Dan’s cheek tenderly. “You’ll see.”


	2. Chapter 2

A whole year had passed since Phil has taken Dan in and let him live with him; things had changed, but they’d definitely changed for the better… for both Dan and Phil. Phil had been taking great care of Dan, getting him back in shape and making sure that he was recuperating healthily, and he never made Dan do anything that he didn’t want to do. By now, he knew what Dan liked and didn’t like, which was a good thing because there were a lot of things Dan didn’t like. Phil made a whole list of things Dan didn’t like and made sure to remember them all.

Phil had fallen completely in love with Dan, and Dan with Phil. They acted like a couple around each other, though both were too shy to admit any potential feelings. They were okay with that though. They knew how they felt about each other, and that was okay.

However, things were starting to get slightly difficult because Phil was planning on throwing a Christmas party, as he did every year. Everybody who lived in the neighborhood always showed up and it was guaranteed to be a good time. The main issue? Chris was coming, like he did every year. This year was obviously going to be different though.

Phil was becoming increasingly worried about how Dan was going to feel, as he knew Dan was still recovering from what he went through was Chris. It wasn’t as if he would get over something so brutal overnight, his mind needed to heal just as much as his body did.

“You don’t have to talk to anyone you don’t want to,” Phil reminded him as he talked with Dan in the kitchen. “You don’t even have to be downstairs…do whatever you want to do.”

The party was tonight, the last week before Christmas. Honestly, Dan was excited, because he was finally going to be able to celebrate Christmas the right way, and he genuinely was feeling quite festive so far. Phil had covered the house, even the outside, with lights and decorations, and the tree was up, looking grand and beautiful with it’s rainbow coloured baubles and garlands of sparkling tinsel. The wait for actual Christmas Day was awful for Dan, and Phil found it adorable how excited he was for Christmas.

“Phil, I’m going to be fine. As long as I don’t have to see or speak to Chris, I’ll be fine.” Dan said.

Phil sighed as he looked over at Dan, still uncertain. “Are you sure?” He asked.

Dan nodded. “I’m absolutely positive. Don’t worry about me. You already have enough to worry about with this party tonight. Do you need me to do anything to help?” He asked.

“I think everything is good so far. We’ve got all the food and drinks set up. We just have to wait for people to arrive. There’s going to be a lot of people here, just warning you,”

“Phil, stop it. I’m going to be fine,” Dan insisted.

Phil smiled. He walked over to Dan and kissed his cheek. “I love you, you know that. I just don’t want you to get hurt tonight. Not everyone in this town is like me when it comes to neko’s,”

“You love me?” Dan asked, looking up at Phil in surprise.

“Yes, of course I do. Can’t you tell?” Phil asked, chuckling.

“Phil,” he whispered as he cheeks turned red from blushing so much.

Phil chuckled and then kissed Dan’s cheek again. “You’re too adorable, you know that? I’m going to go get washed up. Can you answer the door if anyone arrives?” He asked.

Dan took a deep breath and slowly nodded. “Of course,” he mumbled.

“Don’t worry. I’ve warned people ahead of time that I do own a neko and if anybody abuses you, then they will be kicked out of my house immediately. I won’t let anyone harm you tonight, okay?”

“Thank you…for caring so much about me, unlike other humans,” Dan said.

Phil grinned. “My absolutely pleasure,” he said. He kissed Dan’s cheek one more time before he turned around and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Dan alone.

It was less than ten minutes later when Dan heard the doorbell go off.

Dan took a deep breath of apprehension and then stood up. He walked out of the kitchen and to the front door. He waited a second before he reached over and opened the door. He looked up and froze as soon as he saw none other than Chris standing in front of him.

Chris looked up and raised his eyebrows when he saw Dan, who he almost didn’t recognize because of how clean he looked compared to the last time that he’d seen him.

“Wow. I see Phil’s been taking care of you, hasn’t he?” Chris said, looking up and down at Dan incredulously.

“Yes, unlike you… who never took care of me,” Dan spat. He didn’t know where this sudden burst of confidence had come from, but he was adamant he’d pay for it later. Chris never liked it when he back-talked him before, Dan was always punished whenever he did it.

“Don’t speak to me like that,” Chris snapped as he stepped closer to Dan. “You filthy little-”

“Chris!” Both Chris and Dan jumped as soon as they heard Phil’s booming voice.

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on him,” Phil warned as he walked over to Dan. He gently grabbed a hold of Dan and pulled him away. “We talked about this. Are you really going to do this?”

“I’m not doing anything,” Chris said coolly, shrugging his shoulders.

“Just stay away from Dan and we won’t have any problems tonight, alright?” Phil reprimanded.

“Chris, are you causing problems already? We’ve barely been here five minutes,”

Phil looked up and smiled as soon as he saw PJ, his best friend and Chris’s current boyfriend.

“Peej! It’s so good to see you again!” Phil exclaimed as he pulled PJ into a hug.

Chris glanced over at Dan again while Phil and PJ were hugging, and shot a glare of contempt at him.

Dan’s gaze dropped to the floor. This was just like old times when Chris was his master. Vivid memories of being smacked and hit and pulled were resurfacing. Dan shook his head vehemently, willing them away.

“I’ve been looking forward to this party all year,” PJ said as he pulled away from Phil.

“Me too. I’ve been going crazy all week planning for it, just ask Dan,”

Dan quickly looked back up again, and gave a small smile.

“Oh, nice to see you again Dan. It’s been awhile,” PJ said politely. “Chris and I will go wait in the lounge for others to arrive.” He reached over and grabbed Chris’s hand.

Chris sighed as he followed PJ to the lounge, and they sat down on the couch.

“Will you leave that neko alone?” PJ hissed.

“I didn’t do anything to him,” Chris said.

“You’re scaring him and you know how much Phil loves him. If you do anything to him then he’ll never forgive you. Phil’s been your best friend since we were teenagers,” PJ said.

Chris rolled his eyes as he leaned against the couch, looking up at PJ.

“Please promise you’ll not cause any problems with Dan or Phil? This night is supposed to fun and festive,” PJ said. “It’s Christmas and I want everyone to be happy.”

“Alright, alright. I promise not to cause any problems,” he promised reluctantly.

“Thank you,” PJ said, pressing his lips to Chris’ cheek.

“How are you?” Phil asked as he walked into Dan’s bedroom.

It’d been an hour since the Christmas party had started and the house was packed with people, so Dan decided that he was going to be spend some time in his room as being around people made him nervous as he knew not everybody accepted neko’s like Phil did.

Dan looked over and smiled as soon as he saw Phil. “I’m okay,” he said.

“I was worried when I didn’t see you anywhere,” Phil admitted as he walked over to Dan’s bed.

“I just needed to take a break,” Dan said. “I’m totally fine. Chris is actually leaving me alone.”

“PJ must have knocked some sense into his head finally,” Phil chuckled.

Dan smiled halfheartedly, “So are you enjoying the party then?” He asked.

“Yeah, actually. Everybody’s happy and being nice to each other which is all that I could ask for, another successful Christmas party,” Phil said.

“Phil?” Dan asked.

“Yes Dan?” Phil asked, sitting down on the bed in front of Dan. “What is it?”

“Just…thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done this past year,” Dan whispered.

Phil couldn’t help but smile. “You are absolutely welcome. I’m glad I could help you,” he said.

“You did more than help, you practically saved me…” Dan said.

“You’re safe here. Nobody can hurt you anymore, just remember that,” Phil told him.

“I will, trust me. I will always remember that,” Dan said.

Phil reached over and kissed Dan’s forehead. “Come back down when you’re ready,”

“Okay. I’ll be down in a few minutes,” Dan said with a coy smile.

Phil stood up from the bed again. He walked over to the door, and looked at Dan one last time before he walked out of the bedroom with a content smile on his face. Sure, it hadn’t been the easiest of times for both of them, but he didn’t regret his actions at all. Dan was such a kind, loving soul who deserved an equally love-filled life, not a life of pain and torture he’d so cruelly been subjected to before.

Phil had always wanted a neko of his own his whole life that he could love and take care of and protect, and he would be infinitely glad he’d saved at least one.


End file.
